Wednesday, 8 March is International Women’s Day, and we’re celebrating with some amazing discounts in Shanghai, Suzhou and Hong Kong. But we’d also like to take this time to celebrate one of our favorite women in the wine world (and creator of some of our favorite Spanish wines).

Nuria Altès & Rafael De Haan

Nuria Altés made her career in wine through her work at Cellar Batea, the largest winery in the Terra Alta region (in fact, despite owning 50% of Bodegas Abanico, she still remains Head of Exports for the winery). Her family has been making wine in the Terra Alta region for generations, though. It’s her unwavering enthusiasm for the wines of her home that has in part motivated her in her journey to one of the more important names in modern Spanish wine. The Herencia Altés family winery produced the Altés Garnatxa Negra that, if you’re a fan of our selection, you’ve no doubt had a few sips of.

Nuria’s wines are created throughout Spain with a particular focus on lesser known wine regions like Catalonia and Galicia while still offering classics from more famous wine regions like Rioja and Ribera del Dero.

Some of her finest work has been done at Bodegas Abanico, which she founded with her partner Rafael de Haan who, having joined the UK wine trade in 2000 and operated a wine and tapas restaurant in Barcelona for a time, joined her to set up Bodegas Abanico in 2006.

Their Hazaña brand takes the traditions of Rioja wine making and flavor to create thoroughly modern, luscious interpretations. The 2012 vintage of the Hazaña Vinas Viejas was awarded a 92 by Robert Parker. It’s fair to say, then, that Nuria has done a good job of bringing her understanding of Spanish wine to the wider world.

When it comes to the wines themselves, perhaps it’s best to let Nuria explain herself:

“We like wines that are enjoyable to drink with good balance and control of both tannins and alcohol. Throughout Spain, many wines are typically overly extracted or rustic as this is the character traditional to the region. Abanico Wines will preserve the essence of this regional character, but we will also ensure that the wines are suitable for the contemporary, international market.”

There you go; for anyone with a love of Spanish wine, or simply great wine made by exciting young wineries, the wines created by Núria and Rafael simply have to be on your list.

Wines created by Nuria Altés are available for instant delivery in Shanghai, Suzhou, Hong Kong and Singapore now on the BottlesXO app. To find out more about our International Women’s Day promotions, click here for Hong Kong and here for Shanghai and Suzhou.